THE CLOCK IN DECORATION In art the clock occupies a position of considerable distinction, and antique examples are prized and collected as much for the decorative qualities of their cases as for the excellence of their timekeeping. French and English cabinetmakers have especially excelled, although in entirely different ways, in the making of clock cases. The one aimed at comely utility, often made actually beau tiful by fit proportion and the employment of finely grained woods; the other sought a bold and dazzling splendour in which ornament over-lay material. It was not in either country until the latter part of the i 7th century that the cabinet-maker's oppor tunity came. The bracket or chamber clock gave comparatively little scope to the worker in wood—in its earlier period, indeed, it was almost invariably encased in brass or other metal; and it was not until the introduction of the long pendulum swinging in a small space that it became customary to encase clocks in deco rative woodwork. What is, perhaps, the earliest surviving English specimen of "grandfather" clock is inscribed with the date 1681. Originally it was a development of the dome-shaped bracket clock, and in the older examples the characteristic dome or canopy is preserved. The first timekeepers of this type had oaken cases but when walnut began to come into favour that beautifully marked wood was almost invariably used for the choicest and most costly specimens. Thus in 1698 the dean and chapter of St. Paul's cathedral paid the then very substantial price of f 14 for an inlaid walnut long-cased eight-day clock to stand in one of the vestries. Throughout the i8th century they were made in myriads all over England, and since they were a prized possession it is not surpris ing that innumerable examples have survived. Vary as they may in height and girth, in wood and dial, they are all essentially alike. In their earlier years their faces were usually of brass engraved with cherubs' heads or conventional designs, but eventually the less rich white face grew common. There are two varieties—the eight-day and the 3o-hour. The favourite walnut case of the late and early i8th centuries gave place in the course of a gener ation to mahogany, which retained its primacy until the introduc tion of cheaper clocks brought about the supersession of the long cased variety. Many of these cases were made in lacquer when that material was in vogue ; satinwood and other costly foreign timbers were also used for bandings and inlay. The most elegant of the "grandfather" cases are, however, the narrow-waisted forms of the William and Mary period in walnut inlay, the head framed in twisted pilasters. During the later period of their popularity the heads of long clocks were often filled in with painted discs repre senting the moon, by which its course could be followed. Such conceits as ships moving on waves or time with wings were also in favour. The northern parts of France likewise produced tall clocks, usually in oaken cases; those with Louis XV. shaped panels are often very decorative. French love of applied ornament was, however, generally inimical to the rather uncompromising square ness of the English case, and the great Louis XV. and Louis XVI. cabinet-makers made some magnificent and monumental clocks, many of which were "long" only as regards the case, the pendulum being comparatively short, while sometimes the case acted merely as a pedestal for a bracket-clock fixed on the top. These pieces were usually mounted very elaborately in gilt bronze, cast and chased, and French bracket and chamber clocks were usually of gilded metal or marble, or a combination of the two ; this essen tially late i8th-century type still persists. English bracket clocks contemporary with them were most frequently of simple square or arched form in mahogany. The "grandfather" case was also made in the Low Countries, of generous height, very swelling and bulbous.